Trouble By Any Other Name
by Lolo84
Summary: Trouble or not, if these guys wanted to become permanent fixtures in our lives—it didn't matter what it would cost us—we'd allow it. Edward/Bella. BPOV.
1. Part 1

**This was my contribution to the 2013 Fandom4LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) Compilation.**

**To me, my piece is long for a one-shot, so I'll be posting it in two parts. The second of which I will post later on today.**

**Shout out to everyone who donated, the authors, banner makers, beta's and organizers who come to together to show how supportive our Fandom can be toward worthy causes. **

**And special thanks to Vancouver-Canuck-Girl, Capricorn75, AJasperForme, and Mina.**

* * *

_"Trouble or not, if these guys wanted to become permanent fixtures in our lives—it didn't matter what it would cost us—we'd allow it."_

* * *

**~TROUBLE BY ANY OTHER NAME~  
**

"M-I-S-S -I-T! Miss it for me, baby! Miss it! Come on, miss it!"

My arms were straining to stay in the air.

Our throats were sore and raw from the force of our screams.

Adrenaline was high.

The gym was packed.

And the energy coming from the stands was insane.

Not only were we playing against our biggest rivals, but this game also determined whether or not we'd make it to state. Score-wise, it had stayed close all night, but now that we had a four point advantage, with barely a minute left in the game, our home team crowd was on their feet chanting along with me and the girls in the hopes we'd finally outplay Forks High.

A whistle blew, Forks missed their foul shot, and we screamed as our star player, Carlisle Cullen, grabbed the ball and ran to the other end of the court. In a flash, he was up in the air and took the ball to the hoop with ease.

"Bella! We got this!"

Still waving my pom-poms in the air, I cut my eyes to my best friend, Angela "Angel" Webber, with a wide smile on my face.

Two years ago I hadn't even considered cheerleading. On a whim, Angel convinced me and two of our best friends to try out. Sophomore year we all made junior varsity, but when junior year came, the other girls lost interest. Rose because she wanted to get into softball and Alice because she felt it was beneath her. She never said that out loud, but we knew how she felt.

It was all the better, though. Angel and I had been best friends since elementary school and Alice and Rose came into our lives later—freshman year. Whenever we had any spare time, the four of us always spent it together so it was nice to have something that belonged to only me and Angel.

In a few months, we'd be graduating from PAH—Port Angeles High—and going to colleges on opposite ends of the country. As excited as we were to be moving on, we were praying we'd keep our promise to stay in touch and be 'best friends forever'.

And seeing this from the court with her by my side was an experience I knew I'd remember forever.

**… XxX …**

"Are we going to Carlisle's party?"

Scoffing, Rose brought the side of her hand to her mouth to make a wet fart sound.

"I guess that's a no," I laughed, and almost face-planted against the dashboard as she sped up the car.

When we saw the girls had actually shown up to the game, Angel and I had been in such a rush to just get the hell out of the gym that we didn't bother going to the locker room to change. So now, I was trying to shimmy my pants on under my skirt. It was a bit of a feat as Rose tended to drive like she was channeling the race car chick, Danica Patrick, but somehow I'd managed to stay upright and not fly through the windshield.

"It's always the same lame-ass music, lame-ass people, and lame-ass drinks. Isn't there anywhere else to go?"

"It's a celebration party—might be better than the norm."

She shrugged. "I doubt it. But if guys really want …"

"Benjamin's boy is having something tonight," Alice spoke up from the back seat. "He told me about it at work today."

"Oh, Benjamin," the girls and I sang, making kissy noises at her.

Alice and Benjamin worked together at the local antique store, and though we'd never met him, we heard about him constantly.

See Alice was one of those 'too cool for school' girls. Rose, Angel and I were the only high school kids she hung out with, and I'm sure it's only because we'd all been friends for a few years now. From what I knew of Benjamin, he was a couple years older than us, went to Peninsula Community College and had been trying to convince Alice to bring us around to hang out with him and his friends for the longest time now.

To her credit, she'd told us this many times, but in our defense, it's just never really worked out. Between our various after-school activities, work schedules, and curfews, it was rare that we had the same days off, let alone a Friday night like tonight.

"So, do we finally get to meet this Benjamin?" I asked.

"That's up to you guys." She shrugged, rolling her eyes at Angel, who was still making kissy noises at her and sticking her tongue in and out of her mouth while moaning. Alice put her palm in front of Angel's face and shoved her away with a laugh. "Stop that. I already told you guys I'm not into him. Actually, you might like him, Bella. He's tall, cute, and kind of quiet. You like that type."

"And he has a job." Rose spoke up with a laugh.

"And he's in college," Angel added, leaning in between the two front seats to look at me.

I huffed, focusing my attention to the visor and pulled down the drop mirror to reapply my make-up. "How'd this get turned back on me?"

"Because you're the only one going through a drought."

I could hear the smug smile in Alice's voice and it caused me to grin because she knew me so well. If this Benjamin guy ended up being cute, nice and interested in me, I wouldn't mind hanging out with him.

While I'd had a somewhat serious relationship freshman, sophomore, and the first half of junior year—coincidentally with Carlisle Cullen—I hadn't really bothered with another one since. I hung out here and there, messed with a couple boys in town, but lost interest too quickly to ever call them a boyfriend or actually sleep with them. I was notorious as having a reputation as a bit of a tease, but I'd take that over being called a whore or slut any day. I wasn't an angel, none of us were, but the girls and I kept our mouths shut, never spilled each other's secrets and made sure there was no concrete proof of the shit we've done.

"Is he the relationship type?" Through the mirror, I sought out eye contact with Alice's reflection, waiting for an answer. "Because, I'm not—"

"We know, we know. You're not trying to get into another one before the end of the school year. You don't want to be tied down when we start U-dub, and yada yada. We know."

Rose was grumbling, acting like she didn't feel the same way when I knew damn well she did. So I decided to throw some attitude right back at her. "And when was the last time you bothered with anyone, Rose?"

She cut her blue eyes to me with a glare before she shrugged to focus on the road again.

"That's what I thought."

"So, it's agreed then?" Angel reached over, fiddling with the car radio. "Benjamin's?"

We nodded, choosing not to say anything else about our love lives while Alice guided Rose on which streets to take, and Angel and I sang along with the radio.

By the time we pulled up to the house, I'd manage to change out of my cheer uniform and was in a pair of capris, a black halter top, and black Chucks. From my bag, I grabbed a hoodie to wrap around my waist. Even though I knew I'd be freezing my ass off, I didn't feel like wearing it quite yet.

"Lose the ribbon." Angel pointed to my ponytail. She'd changed too and was in dark jeans, a white t-shirt and her black hair was fanned around her face and down her back in long layers. She was the prettiest of us four, always looking like she was ready for the runway and trying to style us even when we weren't interested.

"It makes me look cute," I protested.

"It makes you look thirteen."

"But a cute thirteen, yes?"

Their silence showed me they didn't agree. I compromised and took out the ribbon but left my hair up in a ponytail.

When we all reached to open our doors, Alice blurted out, "I've been to Benjamin's parties before," and since this wasn't news, we all turned to face her and waited for her to continue. "They're fun … his friends, I mean. They're cool, but there are also a few creeps that always pop up. If we get separated, be careful."

Rose rolled her eyes and I knew a snarky response was coming, but I stopped her by speaking up and agreeing for everyone. Alice had always been protective of us, if not a tad bit overbearing, but we were all used to it. However, Rose always had something to say, and I wasn't in the mood to watch them get into it tonight.

Once inside, Rose's attitude and Alice's commandeering vibe quickly evaporated. She looked just as much out of her element as we did and Rose was all but cowering into my side.

From jump, it was clear this was different than any other party we'd been to—everything we'd ever seen was multiplied tenfold.

The kitchen counter was stockpiled with bottles upon bottles of booze. Girls were dancing around half-naked in just tops and underwear, soaking wet from head to toe, and not a care in the world that we could all see straight through their tops.

The music was blaring, people were walking in and out, and the air was filled with the stench of smoke. If it was anything like I'd seen on TV, I would say this was a frat party.

"There's Tanya!"

I looked over to Alice who was shouting over the music and pointing to a tall blonde in the corner, grinding all over some guy. "Who's Tanya?"

"I work with her, come on!"

Like a conga line, we fell in line behind Alice, and whoever was grabbing a hold of my hand had a death grip on it.

When she noticed us, the blonde's head snapped up. And forgetting all about the guy she'd just been dry humping, she made her way over to us and flung her arms around Alice's neck, squealing.

"God, I'm glad you decided to come out. Are these your girls?" Alice nodded, turning to us with a proud look on her face while she made the introductions. I don't know if this Tanya girl was just wasted or normally this friendly, but she gave us tight, friendly hugs and pulled us forward. "This is Edward!"

At hearing his name called, her bump-and-grind partner stood up to his full height and looked at us dead on.

And I'm pretty sure all three of us—Rose, Angel, and I—lost our train of thought.

It was hard to tell how old he was, but from the hard look of his face, it was obvious he was out of high school. It didn't seem like he was _that much_ older than us. In his early twenties, maybe? Regardless, he was definitely a man in comparison to the boys we knew.

He was dressed simply, almost like Angel, in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. His shoulders were wide, his waist was narrow, he had scruff on his face, and the fucker was tall. That normally wouldn't have been a big deal when standing next to me or Alice, as we both measured in at a whopping 5'4", but even Angel's 5'10" head tipped back to better look at him. I saw his mouth moving and his eyes darting between me and the girls, but I couldn't understand a word of it. I was too lost in his eyes. Eyes that were so green I was convinced they were contacts. Somewhere in my bathroom dressers lived a pair of blue ones, but the one time I wore them they looked funny against my dark brown eyes.

However, Edward's eyes looked perfect—he looked perfect. The only unkempt thing about him was his hair, but even that …

"And this is Bella."

Tanya saying my name and one of the girls elbowing my side snapped me out of my haze and I had to blink to regain focus.

"Huh?"

I heard snickering and felt another elbow before Alice spoke up next to me, confirming my name was indeed Bella. Edward had a passive look on his face, probably thinking I was a flake and I had to look away to try and hide my embarrassment.

"Where's Benjamin?"

There was a pause, so I didn't know who Alice asked or if she was answered, before I felt myself being tugged forward again. I looked up to see Edward had a hold of her hand and I snapped my eyes to gauge Tanya's reaction. She didn't seem to care about or notice the gesture.

With Edward in the lead, we formed another conga line and weaved our way around the party until we approached two guys.

They were both buff as shit, way too muscular for my liking, but I could see Alice and Angel eyeing them both.

Alice walked over to hug the one on the left. He was the shorter of the two with dark hair and highlights and a black t-shirt that looked a little too small for him. He was cute, though. "Guys, this is Benjamin."

"Just Ben is fine." He smiled at us and it was the first time I believed Alice when she said nothing was going on between them. He might have been her ideal type but they looked at each other the way she looked at us. Like friends.

"This is Emmett," Ben shouted over the music, pointing to his friend.

Emmett lifted up his cup and gave us a coy smile but didn't say anything else as he leaned over to whisper something in Edward's ear. Whatever it was, it made Edward smile, nod, and cut his eyes over to us but he didn't say anything either.

It was awkward as hell; all of us standing near the speakers, Ben standing in front of a weird DJ set up, not speaking.

Thankfully, Tanya came back with some drinks and alleviated the stiff air between the seven of us. She also brought some company.

"Guys this is Jasper." The way she looked at the tall blond standing next to her was with an affection she didn't show Edward. So with that and her not seeming to care earlier when he was holding Alice's hand, I ventured to guess Edward must not be her boyfriend. However, the way Jasper looked at her, or didn't really look at her at all, showed me whatever might be going on was one-sided.

"You know Alice," Tanya continued her introductions with a flirty smile. From under Ben's arms, Alice barely spared Jasper a wave. She seemed too focused on Emmett. But next to me, Rose was two seconds away from drooling all over herself and humping his leg. It was funny how they both seemed to go for their male counterparts. Rose's blonde hair and blue eyes matched Jasper's. While Alice's black hair, hazel eyes and dimples was the exact match to Emmett. So much for opposites attract. "And these are Alice's girls Bella, Angel, and Rose."

"That's some combination of names." Jasper's voice was rich and smooth as he looked at Rose, and I knew right then and there my friend was done for.

Any remaining awkwardness quickly evaporated when everyone else started in on their drinks. Not me, though. Jasper had popped the top of my beer for me, but I'd only taken one small sip. I wasn't entirely comfortable and knew I needed to keep a cool head about myself since the other girls didn't seem like they were planning on taking it slow. Plus, the beer tasted the way I imagined piss would.

While Rose and Alice zeroed in on their guys, Angel and I fidgeted from side to side—not talking, not knowing what to say. I could see her checking Ben out, but he was too distracted messing with the music. Meanwhile, I was trying not to ogle Edward and he was making it hard. He didn't bother saying two words to me, but over the top of his bottle he made it no secret he was watching me. I'd look up, catch him looking at me and quickly look away. Only to glance right back and see he was still staring.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom," Angel whisper shouted in my ear seconds after Tanya excused herself to do the same.

Thankful for a reason to step away, I said, "I'll go with you." Then I shouted to the girls, "We'll be right back!" Alice looked like she was going to step away with us, but I shook my head to let her know she needed to stay put with Emmett. With not so subtle winks, Angel and I were on our way—wandering around the house aimlessly until we stumbled on a nice room toward the back of the house. "So that Ben guy …" she started as soon as we were able to lock ourselves in.

I nodded, letting her know I was listening but frowned in confusion as to why she'd stopped her thought.

"What about him?" I pulled my hair out of my ponytail, running my fingers through it. "Up or down?"

"I'd say up. It's hot out there."

I nodded my thanks, and got back to work—bending completely over to gather my hair on top of my head. Sometimes I hated it. It looked nice when it was done, but on an average day, it was just a long brown mess of a rat's nest.

"What do you think of him?"

"What do I think of who?" I stood up with a huff, struggling to get it all tied up.

"Ben."

"He's cute."

"Do you like him?" she whispered, looking away. "I mean, I know we were teasing you about him in the car, but you seemed to be focusing more on the redhead. Did I see that right? Or …"

I immediately understood what she was rambling about. While I didn't lie about thinking Ben was cute, he wasn't doing it for me. And even if I had been slightly interested, no dibs were called, you know? I wouldn't stand in the way of her trying to talk to him. Still, I decided to tease her a little.

Sighing, I placed a hand over my chest. "Oh, yeah. He's so dreamy. Can't you see it? The two of us taking a walk on the beach, sitting under the moonlight reading Shakespeare together, feeding each other grapes—I think I'll name our kids Benji. All five of them."

"Okay, I get it!" She laughed, pushing my shoulder. "I'll go for it."

"Good, because you're right about Edward." I shook my right hand in the air and snapped my fingers. "He's hot!"

"Are you going to try and talk to him?"

"I don't know." I looked down, picking at my fingernails. "I can't get a read on him. What do you think?"

"He was staring at you."

"Yeah? I thought so too, but I wasn't sure …" I brought my eyes up to hers, hopeful and needing that last bit of encouragement from my best friend.

"I saw it." She shot me an encouraging smile which quickly dropped to a pout. "I can't say the same thing for Ben, though. He barely looked at me."

She was kind of right, but at the same time, I don't think he was ignoring her either. He was busy being the DJ and focusing on the crowd to make sure they were enjoying what he was playing. That gave me an idea.

"I know how to get his attention. Let's go."

There were so many things going on I knew we couldn't compete with; for example, the half-naked girls who seemed down for just about anything. However, for as trashed, and somewhat _trashy_, as some of them looked, the majority couldn't dance for shit. And since the guys had frequently stared that way, I pulled her straight to the middle of the dance floor knowing it was our best bet of getting noticed by them.

Now, the only 'dance' training I've ever had was what little we did on the squad, but I knew I could hold a beat. Angel though, was a fucking beast. She was in every dance class ever offered in Port A and the surrounding areas, and she won every dance competition from Washington and beyond. She was tall, gorgeous, and sweet as hell. Almost every guy in our school tried dating her at one point, but like everyone else, she still had her moments of insecurity—except when she was dancing.

"Show me the hips that got you into Julliard, girl!"

She nodded, catching on quickly, and threw her head back in a laugh as her body started swaying. I followed along with her as best as I could, but I don't think it mattered how well I was doing—she was killing it enough for the both of us.

Within minutes, we'd gathered a bit of an audience. A couple of guys tried to break it up and join us, but it wasn't until the familiar bulked out frame and highlighted hair wedged in between us did I smile in victory. With Ben in the middle facing Angel, and my chest to his back, the three of us swayed and moved in time with the music. Another song kicked on and I backed off, ready to make my way back to the group and give them their moment when I saw the girls making their way to me with Emmett and Jasper in tow. My heart clenched and my eyes darted around looking to see where Edward was, but I tried my best to hide my disappointment from the others.

Alice threw her arms around my neck and started dancing in front of me while Rose moved to dance behind me. Emmett was behind Alice and glancing over my shoulder, so I assumed Jasper was behind Rose.

When we all eventually parted, my throat felt dry so I motioned with my hands that I wanted to get a drink. Angel nodded to signal she was coming with me, while everyone else said they were all set and would be back by the other side if we needed them. Ben bent down to whisper in Angel's ear before he went back to his makeshift DJ booth and her wide smile had me grinning over our successful plan.

With our fingers laced together, we started heading to the kitchen, but I stumbled on my feet when my eyes caught sight of Edward. From where he stood he had a good view of the 'dance floor' and his intense stare let me know, or at least made me hope, he'd been watching.

When Angel squeezed my hand, I knew she saw him, too. It made me slightly giddy.

I wasn't cool enough to play it cool with Edward—play hard to get and whatnot—so in a moment of bravery, I let go of her hand and marched right up to him.

"How come you're not dancing? Why didn't come dance with us?"

He smirked, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "I can't dance."

Well, that's not true. Shaking my head, I braced a hand on his shoulder to lean up to him. "You were when we first came in—I saw you."

"No, what you saw was Tanya dancing and me barely moving behind her. If I didn't have two left fucking feet … trust, I would've been behind _you_ out there."

If I thought Jasper's voice was deep and rich sounding, I had no idea how to describe Edward's. In a way, it was almost too deep; scary but sexy. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to control myself.

"Here you go, B." A wine cooler materialized in front of my eyes.

I took a step back from Edward and dropped a quick kiss on Angel's cheek. Now _that_ I could mess with; I love the taste of wine coolers in comparison to beer, and they never got me drunk.

"You don't want water instead?" I lifted an eyebrow at him, wondering if he was one of those guys who were turned off by girls who drank. That would have been too damn bad because that was probably one of the things I'd probably never compromise on. I could understand sloppy drunks being a turn off, but a wine cooler? In response to my silence, and my challenging brow, Edward straightened up his posture and jutted his chin to something behind me. "I mean from dancing out there. If you're thirsty, there's water around here somewhere."

"Oh, that?" Angel waved a dismissive hand. "That was nothing. We're used to dancing for hours without a break."

"You're dancers?" His voice went up an octave and I almost choked on my drink, realizing his misinterpretation.

"We're cheerleaders, not strippers."

"I wouldn't judge you if you were."

"And we wouldn't lie if we were," I snapped.

"Fair enough." He winked, openly appraising me from head to toe. Embarrassed at my weird little outburst, I went back to finishing my drink. Damn, he was right—I _was_ thirsty. "Want another?"

Both Angel and I said we did and as soon as he walked around the counter, she tapped me on my hand.

"What's up?"

"I think I'm gonna…" she widened her eyes, blinking and gesturing with them wildly.

"Gonna what? Have a seizure?"

"Really, Bella?"

"Just say it." Really, it's not like I could read eyes.

"I could only find these," Edward interrupted us, lifting up two Smirnoff Ice bottles.

"Thanks." Angel grabbed it quickly. "I'm actually gonna go check on everyone else and request a couple songs from your friend … Ben, right?"

Oh!

At the same moment I figured out that's what she was trying to tell me with her eye language, Edward shot her a smirk that silently called her on her shit. She wasn't fooling him with the nonchalance, and since he didn't stop her, I hoped that meant Ben was interested.

She tapped the tip of her bottle with mine and with a quick kiss on my cheek, she was off. Just like that I was nervous again and it took everything in me not to head off right after her. I wanted to be alone with Edward, but now that it was just us, I knew my nerves would take over.

"What's up?" Edward's hand darted out to latch onto my arm and pull me a little closer to him.

I shrugged, trying to remain calm and took a sip of my drink. "Not much."

"So you're a cheerleader. Where do you go to school?"

I hesitated for a moment and actually searched out the girls. We never discussed what the guys were to know about us, so I wasn't sure how to answer. I assumed Ben knew we were still in high school, but that only stood true if Alice told him the truth. I didn't want to blow up any one's spot, but I didn't want to lie to Edward either.

"I go to Port Angeles High."

"That's cool." He nodded. "I went there, too. Well, at first, but I graduated from Lincoln last year."

I spluttered on my drink. Not because he mentioned going to one of the alternative schools in the area—really some of those kids got a bad rap for no reason—but because he just graduated _last_ year. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

I wanted to ask him how long he's been nineteen but stopped myself.

"Wow, you seem so … so … older?"

For some reason he found this funny and his face split up in a smile. My stomach fluttered, wondering if he knew exactly what that smile did to me. "I'm turning twenty in a couple months if that makes you feel better. Why, how old are you anyway?"

"Eighteen." My smile was easy as I didn't have to lie about that, but I cut my eyes over to Rose. She'd be turning eighteen next month and I still had no idea how old the other guys were, or what she was saying to Jasper.

"So you're a senior then?" Edward brought my attention back to him and I nodded. "Where are you going next year?"

I explained my plans to go to U-dub along with Rose and Alice and that my back up plan, should I not get in, was to take some courses at Peninsula Community College and transfer later. He gave me a small smile, explaining that's exactly what happened to him. All his goofing off in school, getting sent to Lincoln, and then not doing well on his SAT's were contributing factors to why he was going to PCC or else he'd be going to U-dub as well.

Our conversation flowed free and smooth. Well … as smooth as it could with music in the background and people walking in between us as they moved in and out of the kitchen. I was quickly getting lost in him. His words, his presence; I didn't want our moment to end. But I knew it had to if only for a few moments. I had no clue how much time had passed while we were in our bubble.

"I should probably go check on the girls," I said when I looked back over to the group. Angel was flirting and making out with Ben but there was a noticeable tension coming from Alice, Rose, and Jasper.

"Okay." Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and led us away. I felt smug when I noticed a few people glare in our direction and others move to make room for us.

"Hi, bitches!"

Angel and Rose beamed at me, but Alice gave me a tight lipped smile.

'What's wrong?' I mouthed to her, but she shook her head. I looked to the girls for clarification but Angel was already back to sucking Ben's face off and Rose looked like she was searching the crowd for someone. It was then I realized Emmett wasn't around.

Edward noticed, too. "Where's Em?"

"Bathroom," Alice answered him at the same time Jasper gave him a hard look. I didn't understand it, but it wasn't meant for me anyway so I quickly looked away.

"We'll be back," Edward announced. "You need anything?"

I shook my head, and tried not to frown. What I needed was for him to stay with me, but I didn't want to say that. Neither one of us were drunk enough for _that_ kind of clingy declaration.

Jasper leaned over and said something to Ben, and he nodded, fiddled with his setup and excused himself to follow after the boys. Once they were out of sight, the four of us turned to each other and Angel was the first one to let out a small squeal.

"Guys!"

"Right!" I smiled, just as happy as she seemed to be. There was a weird vibe coming from Alice and Rose but I wasn't going to let that shit on mine and Angel's happiness. Thanks to Edward, my cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. And as a result of her and Ben trying to swallow each other whole, her lips and chin were red. Two signs we were having a great night.

Her eyes were slightly glassy, though, so I could tell she was far more than tipsy and that sobered the small buzz from sipping some of Edward's drink while we'd been talking. "You're good, right?"

"Perfect." She swayed in her spot and burped. "But I should probably get some water."

"Good call. I'll come with you. Do you girls want anything?"

Emmett came back then so I figured Alice was going to stay put, but Rose is the one who looked more set on staying.

"I actually need to use the bathroom," Alice said. "Wanna show me where it is?"

"I'll show you," Angel offered.

They went on their way while I focused on the task at hand—keeping my girl hydrated and sober.

I don't know what Edward was talking about, offering us water earlier, because it was a scavenger hunt trying to find a bottle in the fridge, freezer, and coolers. My fingers were turning blue from fishing through some ice when I felt someone come and stand by me. I looked to my right and cringed. A guy, clearly older than all of us, was standing too close to me, a leering smile on his face. His hair was kind of spiky, like a Mohawk that wasn't, and his clothes were simple—jeans and a t-shirt. But you could just tell he didn't fit in, and shouldn't be there.

"What's up?"

I didn't answer but in an attempt to be polite, I smiled and discreetly tried to move away. Unfortunately, he moved right along with me. "What's your name?"

"Not interested."

At this point, it was time to walk away completely, but he grabbed my arm to pull me back. "So what, you think you're too good for me?"

Now he was in my face, gripping me too tight and I was nervous. "I'm here with someone, all right? Just let me go."

"Oh, yeah? Who?"

"Me."

The guy stiffened, and my heart did a little dance as I looked straight into Edward's green and enraged eyes.

"Let her go, Demetri."

He dropped his hands instantly, raising them in the air to show surrender and took a step back. "I'll catch you later." The Demetri guy winked at me, but Edward pushed him to the side.

"Not likely you old fuck. Beat it."

He said something in retort, but I didn't catch it. Edward ignored him as well and spun me around to lean back against the wall. His lips were on mine in a second—soft but commanding. I had a pretty good feeling he was just putting on a show for this guy, but I couldn't bring myself to care about that. Edward's tongue was in my mouth and it felt amazing!

He lifted me up and wrapped my legs around him, rolling my hips against him in the same fashion as when I was dancing earlier.

For someone who claimed he couldn't dance, the way he was moving against me proved otherwise.

He was grinding his hard-on against my crotch and my fingers were buried in his hair while I latched my mouth onto his neck. Our tongues were doing their own little dancing, too—swirling, pushing, fighting against each other.

I was pushing myself down on him, running my fingers over his back, moaning against his skin and doing everything I could think of to egg him on; let him know I was pretty much offering myself up to him.

"We should get out of here. You cool with that?"

"Absolutely."

I slid down his body, making him hiss when I accidentally on purpose rubbed against him on my way down. There was already an ache between my legs and I squirmed, trying to keep it at bay.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom first. I'll be right back."

I smiled, pulling his face down to give him another kiss. "Hurry."

When I noticed him adjusting himself while he walked away, I giggled and did a little dance; looks like my drought was coming to an end tonight.

I went in search of my hoodie, remembering I had set it aside during my hunt for Angel's water, when I felt someone tap me on my shoulder.

"Hi."

I sighed, recognizing the voice and looked over at Demetri with an eye roll.

"Edward will be back in a minute ... so bye."

"I wouldn't act so cocky if I were you. You're just another whore to him. Don't think you're special."

I was dumb, I should have ignored him, but I took the bait. "Excuse you?"

"Edward Masen has been the love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy since I've known him." I narrowed my eyes and tried my best not to react any further. He was waiting for a reaction, but my initial shock was all he was going to get. And it wasn't shocked because I was hurt by what he was saying. I didn't care what Edward's past was or what he planned for me after tomorrow; I'd worry about that then. No, it was because I didn't like this guy and the way he was talking about him.

"You need to leave me alone." I tried backing away, but he took another step toward me and laughed.

"Please. Mr. Hit It and Quit it probably forgot all about you already. He probably just wanted to see how easy you'd be, but you can't see that, can you?"

"Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?"

"Edward!" I ducked under Demetri's arm and attached myself to Edward's side, gripping my arms around his waist.

"Well, someone has to look out for her since you don't seem to have a problem leaving her alone."

"Stop worrying about me and _my_ girl, D, and worry about yours. Unless …" Edward cupped his junk, smirking. "Do you need me to take care of her for you? Again?"

"Fuck you, Masen!"

"Nah, I'm good ... thanks. Your mom did a good enough job of that last night."

Edward threw his arm around me, steering me to the other side of the kitchen with a guilty expression on his face. "Sorry about that. I know it was a dick thing to say but I can't stand that guy."

I snorted. It was kind of cute how he thought he was offending me.

"I ride on the bus with groups of guys all the time. Trust me, I've heard worse." _Said worse, too._ His eyebrows rose, a silent request for me to elaborate. "I'm a cheerleader, remember? Sometimes we take the bus with the guys to away games. They don't spare us the locker room talk."

"Yeah, well—"

I was suddenly pitched forward and Edward's grip tightened painfully at my side to keep me upright.

"Ouch."

"I'm fucking sick you and your shit," Demetri snarled at him. And I quickly realized he must have pushed us.

"Back off, D. You don't wanna start shit with me tonight—trust me."

"Fuck you," he spat, taking a swing at Edward. Unfortunately for him, he missed horribly and almost lost his balance. Edward saw that as his opportunity and swung right the hell back. Only he didn't miss and Demetri went flying to the floor.

Edward smirked, seeming more than satisfied with the result, but Demetri's pride was bruised and he got up looking for more. Edward quickly revealed himself as someone who didn't back down, and that's when shit hit the fan.

At the sight of a fight, people started panicking and pushing their way past me to get outside.

As I was trying to get to Edward, I got lost in the shuffle and before I knew it, I was outside too and the fight had picked up steam.

I stood there, eyes wide and silent while everyone around me seemed to have lost their minds cheering Edward on while he straddled Demetri and proceeded to beat the shit out of him. While his fists flew a mile a minute, I was stuck between feeling scared shitless and slightly turned on by his power. I couldn't say or do anything. I didn't even try and shout at him to stop. I was stuck in a trance, confused on how to feel.

It seemed like it went on forever, all the noise blurring together in the background, before we heard sirens in the distance.

The noise must have alerted the neighbors, or someone from the party must have called the cops. Just like inside when the fight first broke out, everyone was in a panic trying to hightail it back inside or away from the property completely. It was madness.

"Shit!"

"Ed, we gotta move!" Ben roared from the crowd—finally pushing through to pull him off a lifeless looking Demetri. He wasn't moving, he was pale, and his face was covered in blood.

"Oh, my God. Is he dead?"

"He'll be fine." Edward let out a sinister laugh and cocked his head to the side to spit. He brought the tips of his fingers to his mouth and winced when he noticed his lip was busted. He narrowed his eyes and looked pissed as if his slight wound was anything in comparison to Demetri who was still lying on the floor.

"We have to go," Ben pushed, coming to stand by us with Angel nestled under his arm "Now!"

"The girls?" I whipped my head around to look for them. I couldn't be sure if they'd rushed inside or maybe just left all together at the first sign of the scuffle. Relief washed over me when I saw them making their way to Rose's car and calling for me to follow.

"Go," Edward ordered, but that wasn't about to happen.

"I'm coming with you."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I got shit on me." Ben gave us a pointed look. I assumed by shit he meant 'weed', which was something I'd learned from Alice that he dabbled in—she dabbled with it from time to time, and bought from him—but I didn't want to know if it was anything worse than that. "If we get pulled over, you girls don't need to get in trouble, too."

"Do you have anything?" I looked over to Edward, who shook his head and kept darting his eyes around. "So you can risk it, but we can't?"

"I'm not gonna argue with you," he snapped, then immediately looked remorseful. "Just … go with your girls, okay? Follow us if you want, but you're _not_ riding in the same car. I'm sorry."

"Deal."

Angel and I booked it to Rose's car, not saying a word at the fact Emmett was in the driver's seat and slammed the doors shut.

"Move, move!" he shouted out the window, peeling out of the gravel driveway behind Ben and Edward.

It felt like we were flying, dirt and dust clouding up around us.

"Holy shit!"

"Right!" I looked at Angel, my hands clutching at my chest.

That was all we said the entire time after Emmett sped off, keeping close to Ben and Edward's tailgate. Jasper was in the passenger seat, mumbling into his cell phone while the four of us sat in the back silently. My hand latched on to Angel's and Alice was sitting on Rose's lap. Briefly, the four of us shared wary glances but it wasn't enough for any of us to speak up with the common sense we needed to ditch these guys.

"All right, go down west 16th," Jasper spoke into his phone. "We're meeting up at the park."

"Which one?" Alice asked, and Jasper looked back at us to offer her a wink.

"Lincoln."

If anyone else noticed the blatant flirting, they didn't say.

About a minute later, both cars stopped at what seemed like the back of the park. Once our doors flew open, Angel and I were at Ben and Edward's sides fussing over them.

"Relax," Edward commanded everyone, raising a bloody hand in the air. I gasped, but he winked and tapped a finger to my nose. "I'm cool, don't stress."

"So, we should probably call it a night soon," Alice spoke up and I swear Rose, Angel, and I all whipped our heads around to glare at her at the same time. "It's getting late and you guys have curfews," she said it all motherly, like she always does, but the way Rose tensed, I knew something else was up—Alice just threw our shit under the bus.

"What about you," Jasper asked her, "You got a curfew?"

"Nope."

"But we came together so we're _leaving _together," Rose countered.

I huffed out a breath and looked at Angel, who rolled her eyes along with me.

"You sure you gotta go?" Edward turned me around by my arm, bringing me flush against his chest. "We were thinking about hitting up a party out in Sequim."

"Umm …" I didn't know what time it actually was, but despite getting caught in the crossfire of whatever was going on with Alice and Rose, she wasn't lying. I _did_ have a curfew and the last thing I needed to do was get in trouble. When the Swan parental units dished out a punishment, they came down on you hard.

There were a lot of things I could do though. Things I've done before. Like make sure I'm seen coming home then sneak out once the coast was clear. Send a text to say I'm staying at one of the girls' houses then proceed to turn my phone off before my parents could tell me no. Or the bravest of the three—just not go home and deal with my punishment later. The thought made me shiver, but I was willing to risk it knowing my one night with Edward might be worth it.

"You're cold." Edward folded his arms around me, rubbing his hands up and down back. Maybe _that's _what caused my shiver—the colder than a witch's tit weather. I was the only one not in full winter gear as the guys had found their way into sweaters, and I knew I'd be regretting it in the morning. I tried to argue that I was fine, but he shook his head. "Go home. Gimme your number and I'll call you tomorrow. We could hook up then."

"But I want to hang out with you more," I whined, trying not to cringe at how desperate I sounded.

"Me too." He gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Tomorrow. I'll call you."

I never thought I'd hear from him again.

* * *

**Part 2 will post later today!**

**Again, thank you for reading and to everyone who donated.**

**Until Later**

**~Lo**


	2. Part 2

**Special thanks to Vancouver-Canuck-Girl, Capricorn75, AJasperForme, and Mina.**

* * *

_"Trouble or not, if these guys wanted to become permanent fixtures in our lives—it didn't matter what it would cost us—we'd allow it."_

* * *

**~TROUBLE BY ANY OTHER NAME~  
Part 2**

I woke up the next morning to the sound of giggling and someone's stomach growling.

"Holy shit."

"For someone so small …" Rose's voice trailed, and I figured from her comment it must have been Alice's stomach going crazy.

"Shut up, I'm hungry."

"What time is it?" I asked, flailing my hands around in search of my phone.

"It's a little after nine," Rose said. "And if you're looking for your phone, I have it."

"Why?" I wasn't bothered that she had my phone, just curious.

"I had to check in."

Oh, right. "Did they bitch?"

"No, my mom seemed like she was still sleeping when I called, actually. And my dad went to work."

"Nice."

We'd learned early on that if Rose stayed the night out, she better be calling them as soon as she woke up to let them know she was okay and from one of our phones if she claimed to be with us.

Of all the parents, the Hales were the hardest to get around.

I'd say my parents came in at a close second, but the girls and I spent so much time at my house, they hardly had time to worry about where I was or what I was doing. Angel's mom was only strict when dance competitions were looming. And as for Alice, she had a drawer at each of our houses and her own key to mine. We don't discuss the Brandons because they were grade A pieces of shit. As long as Alice stayed out of their way, they didn't care what she did.

"What do you guys want to do today? Wanna just hang out here?" It had taken a little while, but we'd all gathered up the energy to at least sit up and face each other so we could chat.

"I work from noon to 2:30," Alice grumbled.

All I could do was shake my head. "What kind of shift is that?"

"Seriously dude, just call in."

I was inclined to agree with Rose, but I knew every bit Alice made helped her. The three of us worked and dealt with our shitty pay and schedules because we wanted to—Alice _had_ to.

"They do know you're eighteen now, right and that you're allowed to work more than a few hours a day? Whoa, speaking of—" a few things about last night dawned on me "—how old did the boys think we were?"

"We're _all_ eighteen," Rose stressed.

I nodded. "Got it."

"Speaking of the boys …" Angel perked up and that was the perfect segue way we needed to start dishing about them. We gushed about how cute they were, how cool they seemed, and then I asked the question I knew was burning in mine and Angel's minds.

"So do you think they'll really call?"

"Edward will definitely call you." Alice nodded, and I wanted to smile at how sure she was, but I could hear a warning tone in her voice.

"But?"

"I didn't say anything."

"But you wanted to."

"Just," she sighed, "he's a really cool guy … and he'll definitely call because he made it no secret he wanted to hook-up with you. I just wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket with him. That's all I'm saying."

Yet it sounded like she was saying so much more than that. "He's a total player, huh? That's the way Demetri made it sound last night."

"Demetri?" She groaned. "Ugh, don't listen to anything that creep has to say."

"But you just said—"

"I'm coming from a good place. D hates Edward because Edward fucked his girlfriend last year."

"Ah."

"Ben didn't seem too crazy about that guy either. What's the story there?"

My eyes flashed to Angel and I knew her smile was for me. She just saved me from what I could tell was about to be another warning from Alice. Edward had bad boy written all over him, I could see that for myself. I don't think I'd take too well to her getting overbearing about it.

We talked about Ben some more, and Alice threw in some info about Edward—making sure to stare at me when she said something nice. I think she noticed I'd gotten a little deflated earlier and was trying to make up for it. We talked about Tanya too, though no one bothered to ask what her relationship was with any of the guys. I don't think we wanted to know. Mostly, we just wanted Alice to find out if she was okay since she'd disappeared into thin air.

After we exhausted every thought and analyzed every detail of the night before, we went about getting ready to start our day. We didn't have set plans, but I knew I wasn't in the staying home mood. I needed to keep my mind busy and off of Edward and whether or not he'd actually call. I was trying not to get my hopes up—I'd already convinced myself it wasn't going to happen—but I couldn't stop thinking about him either. There was just … something about him and I couldn't get our kisses out of my mind.

In the driveway, we decided I'd take my car to drop Alice at work because Rose needed to get straight home without any detours.

As soon as we were in the car and backing out, Alice reached over from the back seat to turn off my radio.

"Hey!"

"I wasn't trying to warn you off of Edward earlier."

Not this again. "Alice—"

"I know you guys think I'm always trying to tell you what to do, but that's so not true. And I really wasn't trying to warn you off of him."

"You just said that."

"And you believe me, right?" I nodded, wanting to appease her, but it was a lie. She was so trying to warn me. "Good. And honestly, he's perfect for what you're looking for anyway. You don't want a relationship and I doubt Edward's ever been in one."

"Great then, nothing to worry about."

**… XxX …**

"You were getting pissed at Alice, weren't you?"

"I mean … right?" I widened my arms at Angel, trying not to slosh my hot tea as we walked. "What was the point of her passive aggressive comments this morning? _He's perfect for what I'm looking for_? Please! Like I needed to hear that shit." She snickered, listening along to my rant. "I do have eyes, you know. Sexy bad boy that has all the girls drooling. He has Dylan written all over him."

"Oh God." She giggled, almost choking on her drink. "90210, I love that show."

"Me, too. I practically blew my last paycheck buying all the season DVDs last week, even though they give the re-runs all the time."

"You gotta let me borrow them."

"Sure."

We dropped all talk about Alice's comments because it occurred to me I was two seconds away from talking shit about my girl. As annoyed as I was, I knew she didn't mean any harm by it and cattiness wasn't my style.

Angel and I continued walking around the mall for a couple hours, wasting time before we had to go pick Alice up from work then meet up with Rose.

"Hey, do you want to drive?" I tossed Angel my keys, knowing she'd be all for it. My car wasn't new—just an old Nissan Altima that used to belong to my mom—but Angel didn't have her own car and hardly got to drive, so whenever she did, it felt like a novelty to her.

She smiled, dancing a little as she folded her long legs into the seat.

"Should we head to Rose's first or go pick Alice up?" she asked, turning the key in the ignition a few times to get it started. We cheered when it came to life, but I whipped out my phone to text my dad, remembering how just a few days ago he was saying I probably needed a new battery soon.

But I already had a text waiting for me. I assumed it was from Alice but when I looked down and I didn't recognize the number, I immediately knew it was Edward.

**Hey, Bella.**

I squealed, bouncing in my seat and saved the number in my phone before I replied.**  
**  
**_Hi! What's up?_**

"What did Alice say?"

"It's Edward actually." I smiled. She didn't hide her shock. "I know, right."

**What r u getting into today? It's Ed btw. ~E**

"What's he saying?"

"Nothing, he just wants to know what I'm doing."

**_Not much. Probably just hanging out with Angel and the girls. You?_**

"Wow, look at that smile."

"Shut up."

**Same here. Ben's asking for your girl. You guys should come over. ~E**

I squealed again.

"What's he saying now?"

I couldn't even be annoyed that she was being so pushy. I'd be doing the same thing.

"He said Ben wants to see you. They want us to come over."

"All of us?" Angel asked slowly, and it brought my excitement down a notch.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

She shrugged. "I'd double check first. Since he only mentioned Ben."

"All right, fine." I looked back down to my phone.

**_All of us, right?_**

He took about a minute to answer so I took that moment to tell her we should head over to get Alice since she should be off by now.

We were almost there when he replied with, **No. Just you and Angel. ~E**

"Shit, he said just us."

"That's …" she screwed her mouth to the side in a grimace and I understood. We wanted to be excited but couldn't help feeling bad. "What do you want to do?"

"Pull over, I think I'm gonna call him."

The car suddenly felt hot and my heart started racing as she brought us to a slow crawl to the side of the road.

"I'm sweating."

"Put it on speaker," she whispered, so I did.

_"Hey."_ Edward's voice rumbled low on the line and he sounded like he just woke up.

"Hey, it's Bella."

_"I know, babe."_

'Oh my God', I mouthed, and then cleared my throat trying to get myself together.

"Right, so listen … I'm on my way to pick up Alice from work and Rose is already waiting for us to pick her up."

_"Okay?"_

And that's all he said. There was nothing but dead air on the other end now, and I couldn't even hear him breathing. I started to panic.

"What do I say?" I hissed.

Angel shrugged but grabbed my wrist to bring the phone closer to her mouth. "Edward, hey it's Angel. Sorry, Bella's driving."

_"Hey."_

I gave her a look that said 'see' because his short responses weren't making it easy to carry on a conversation.

"So, B said you and Ben wanted us to come over. Is he there?"

_"Yeah, and he's asking for you."_

Goo.

His simple words were turning us into goo.

"Tell him I said hi." She did a better job at sounding nonchalant than she did last night, but in front of me, she'd open her mouth in a silent scream and was trying to control her giggles. I was right there along with her. "The thing is we made plans to hang out with the girls today."

Edward chuckled but there was something off about it. _"That's cool. If you got plans, you got plans. We can just find a way to get together another day."_

"No!" We both shouted, and this time his chuckle sounded bright.

_"Whoa."_

"Sorry," we mumbled, but I was the one to pick up the conversation. "Where are Emmett and Jasper? Don't they want to hang with the girls, too?"

I could have sworn I heard him mutter something that sounded like not really, but I couldn't be sure.

_"Hey look, I gotta go, but I'll be home. I'll text you my address and if you're up to it—come through. If you have to bring your girls that's fine."_

We parted with some quick goodbyes, but before Angel and I could discuss a course of action, my phone rang again. This time it was Alice, asking me if I was still able to pick her up from work.

**…XxX….**

"So the boys invited me and B to hang out with them today," Angel whispered from the driver's seat. She sounded hesitant to bring it up, and on the inside, I felt the same way. We'd spent years being thought of us a package deal, so this was the first time in a long time the four of us were being put in this awkward situation—only two of us being invited somewhere.

We had no idea how to handle it.

After we picked up Alice and got to Rose's house, Alice ran in to get her. Another Hale parent rule was that you weren't allowed to honk the horn for Rose.

While they were inside, Angel and I quickly discussed the pros and cons of what to do. No matter how we spun it, we didn't feel right not including Alice because as of this moment, Ben and Edward were still _her_ friends, not ours. Had it not been for her, we wouldn't have met them in the first place. If the shoe was reversed, it would have made me feel a certain way, and we didn't want to cause any issues between them. But if we went with her and ditched Rose, we knew it would hurt her feelings by being left out.

The lesser of the evils was to just bring them along and hope for the best. I had faith Edward wouldn't be rude or make them feel unwelcomed once we all got there, and we'd probably all end up having fun together.

They both perked up, and I saw a flash of guilt cross over Angel's face. Again, it matched exactly how I was feeling inside. She'd let it hang in the air, choosing her words carefully, but we didn't correct them in the assumption they were automatically included.

"So you're up to going there with us?"

"Of course."

"Good." I forced a smile. "Should be interesting."

The ride stayed eerily quiet as we followed the GPS directions to Edward's house. The nervous energy had me tapping my fingers over my cloth covered legs.

When we pulled up to the house, I smiled. It looked like a regular-sized PA house with flower beds, a porch, and a few steps leading to the front door. This was obviously his parents' house and for some reason that made me feel comforted. I think if we'd pull up to find out he was living in some apartment by himself, I'd be intimidated.

There were already two cars in the driveway and the lawn looked well-kept so it left us unsure where to park. Sending him a quick text, I told him we were outside wondering what do, and only seconds later, the front door swung open. Out walked Edward, shirtless despite the cold, and pointing to the grass with a lazy grin on his face. I was convinced he knew what it did me now.

"That's Ben's car. Are Emmett and Jasper here, too?"

Now she asks.

"I don't know," I answered Alice and left it at that.

Once inside, the four of us squeezed together on the large, black leather couch while Edward stretched out on the loveseat to our right and Ben perched on the recliner next to him.

"Did you guys find the house okay?" Edward craned his upper torso around to look at us. His stomach was flat but not overly muscular; however, his arms and chest were cut. I shifted in my seat feeling uneasy that he was walking around without a shirt, and flaunting the sexiness in front of the girls. I trusted them, I did. I just didn't want them to see that much of him. "If you girls want anything to drink, help yourself. Emmett just texted me—said he'll come over after work. Jasper should be here soon."

Oh, thank God.

"Angel." All our heads snapped in the direction of Ben's soft voice. "Did you want something to drink?"

She nodded but didn't say anything or move, so I put my hand low on her back to urge her up and off the couch. It might not have been a smooth or spectacular line but at least he made the first move.

"We have all the movie channels," Edward offered, pointing the remote at me and shaking it. But he didn't move to reach it to me so I wasn't sure what to do. He continued watching me with an amused but quizzical look on his face and when he mouthed the words 'come here' to me it was my turn to feel a hand at my back pushing me forward.

Oh.

My smile was shy, while I made my way over to him. I reached for the remote but he grabbed my wrist to pull me down. It wasn't the least bit graceful as I fell awkwardly on his legs and not his lap, but he took it in stride and scooted back to position me in between his legs.

Minutes later, Ben and Angel came back and from the looks on their faces, I could tell they got a little more than 'something to drink' in the kitchen. When they settled into the recliner in pretty much the same fashion, I chanced a glance at the girls. While they looked bored—Rose was actually focused on her phone—they didn't seem uncomfortable, so I let myself melt into Edward and turned to better rest my head on his chest.

The feeling of his skin against my forehead made me pout. While the heat was blasting, it wasn't hot enough to warrant no clothes. He must have felt the shift of my lips or something because he poked me in the side to get my attention. "What's wrong?"

"Uh …" I lifted my head, darting my eyes around to see who was paying attention. "Aren't you cold?" I whispered.

He barked out a loud laugh, making me jump and everyone look over at us. Slightly embarrassed, I ducked my head back down.

"You want me to put on a shirt, baby?"

"Kind of," I muttered against his shoulder. Though really my thoughts about him being half naked were momentarily forgotten, as all I wanted to do was find a way to get him to call me baby again so I could record it on my phone and save it forever.

"I get it." He lifted my head, winked, and unleashed the power of a full grin on me. I returned it, pleased he seemed to be smug and not bothered by my request. I sat up to let him off the couch, and he handed the remote to me for real this time. "Try and find a movie."

"What do you guys want to watch?" I focused my question on the girls because Angel and Ben were in their own world. They said they didn't care, so after flipping through the channels and movie archives, I voted for _The Hangover_ wanting to lighten the mood. Everyone readily agreed. When Edward came back out, he was wearing a barely zipped up hoodie, holding a blanket and sporting a massive grin.

"Since I'm being forced to wear this, I'm putting the heat down."

I continued staring forward at the TV and didn't say anything. It was best I pretended I didn't hear him and that he wasn't teasing me.

We were about twenty minutes into the movie, where they were singing by the campfire, when Jasper walked in. He greeted us all with a wide smile and went to sit in between Rose and Alice. They looked tense, but Edward rubbing his hand up and down my arm was more interesting so I focused my attention on him.

No one spoke much during the movie. We laughed, looked around at each other and someone would occasionally have to use the bathroom, or offer to get us all drinks, but that was it. Still, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I knew bringing Alice and Rose along wasn't a bad idea.

As soon as the movie ended, Angel and Ben slipped away to another part of the house and Edward handed the remote to Jasper. Emmett still hadn't arrived.

"Let's get something to drink." He pinched my side. I nodded, following him to the kitchen despite having my own cup of juice sitting on the coffee table in front of us.

"Jasper brought Cokes but the dumbass didn't put them in the fridge." He shook his head and reached in the freezer to grab some ice. Without confirming that I wanted some, he filled two glasses with the ice and poured soda in them. "Want anything else with it? I got rum …"

"Oh." I widened my eyes. "No, no I'm good. Thanks."

Feet wide and leaning against the counter, Edward did the same thing he was doing the night before—staring at me from over the top of his cup as he drank.

I was a little more confident about where we stood now. So instead of glancing away, I stood across from him and stared right back.

Once he finished drinking, he set his cup down and took two steps to come stand in front of me.

"Hop up." He put his hands at my waist, as if he was going to assist me in sitting on the counter, but really he lifted me up there.

It was pretty hot how strong he was.

"Thanks for coming through today." He smiled as he stood between my legs. "I almost thought you wouldn't."

"Really? Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "You seemed into me last night and all, but there was no telling how you'd feel this morning."

"I could say the same thing for you."

"Well, I called you to come over." He started leaning into me. "So you know where I stand."

"And I came over." I threw my arms around his shoulders. "So I guess you know where I stand, too."

"Do I?" He leaned in more. I nodded and met him the rest of the way for a kiss.

God, he was such a good kisser.

With our mouths still attached, he slid a hand underneath the hem of my shirt. I jumped. His hands were cold from digging for ice.

"You're not hot in this?" He brought his other hand to play with the strings of my sweater. I shook my head and went back in for more kissing. His lips were firm but still soft. He cupped the back of my neck with one hand and brought the other arm to wrap low around my back, pulling me to bring us closer.

Even with the thick materials in between us, I could feel him getting hard.

For where we were—open and exposed in the kitchen—it was slowly becoming too much.

"Edward."

"Let's go to my room."

My heart skipped a beat. I wasn't sure if it was due to nerves, excitement or both, but I nodded and slid off the counter. "You read my mind."

He laced our hands together and pulled me along to the room. On our way, I kept my head down but a wide smile on my face. That way the girls would know I was okay, but at the same time, I was able to avoid any sly looks and lewd gestures.

Edward's room was nice, but a typical boy's room. There were posters on the wall, the bed was unmade and across from it was a big TV and a desk sat in the corner. I couldn't get a feel for him from the vibe, but I was still comfortable.

"Nice room."

"Uh huh." He grabbed my waist and started kissing me again while walking us backward toward the bed.

We were full on making out, moving our bodies against each other and ignoring the slight rocking and creaking of the bed.

"Do you want to?" Edward panted, toying with the waistband of my pants.

"Yeah." I nodded.

His kisses got even more intense, rough, and needy as he helped me peel them off along with my sweater and my shirt. I lay there in just my bra, camisole, and panties. Normally, I'd be a dive under the covers girl, but with just a simple look, Edward made me feel more confident than I could ever remember feeling in this position.

Silently, I sat up to help him take off his hoodie and sweatpants. This left him completely naked.

Wow.

He smirked, letting me know I'd actually said that out loud.

I didn't care.

Every single bit of him was sexy. He was smooth, soft, and rock hard in all the right places.

But as confident as a look from him made me feel, there was still a part of me that felt intimidated, like maybe I wasn't measuring up.

"You're so hot."

"You think so?"

Biting his bottom lip, he nodded and lifted me to him by the back of my neck. The words 'searing kiss' didn't even cover it this time. And I melted, whimpering and moaning, not giving a thought about how and why something so simple as kissing a guy I hardly knew could feel so passionate. He was talking, acting, and treating me like he wanted me more than anything in the world. And I guess in this moment that's how he felt.

So I did my best to put all the worries away and enjoy my one night with him. I pushed up on one hand, snaked the other around his neck, and held on for dear life. Gripping onto his hair, I threw everything I had into him—trying to kiss him as ferociously as he was me.

He pulled away to look in my eyes, and said "I want you. All of you. I want you so fucking bad right now."

"Take me." I lay back and took him with me. "Have me."

My legs were wrapped around his back. I could feel his bulge poking me, then his fingers sliding down the seam of my wet panties.

Rolling my hips to spur him on, we ended up doing a little dance to try and get comfortable. Edward started sucking at the skin of my neck and fingering me through the outside of my panties. I couldn't control some of my moans. It felt so good, and he was groaning and rubbing against me.

"Oh, God." I wedged my hand in between us, wanting to return the pleasure, but it forced my arm to bend a little awkwardly.

"Hold on." We rolled over so Edward was on his back and I was at his side. "Suck it," he whispered, grabbing himself.

His voice and demeanor was always commanding, but the way his request came out—as more of a question and the way his face looked unsure on whether or not I'd actually do it made me want to that much more. This was definitely not something I enjoyed and normally avoided it at all costs, but with Edward I wanted to. Maybe it was a desire to pleasure him or prove myself to him, I wasn't sure. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

I didn't respond, and with as much courage as I could muster, I took a deep breath and lowered my mouth on him.

He put his hands on the back of my head, pushing it down and I panicked because I felt like was about to gag. I popped my head away, tears springing to my eyes. He sat up swiftly, bringing his mouth to mine to give me a quick kiss. "Shit, sorry. You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry, you just caught me by surprise."

"Uh … yeah, we don't have to do that."

"No, I want to. Just—maybe don't push my head down?"

"I'll try." He grinned, lying back down.

"And ... tell me when you're about to –"

"I won't come in your mouth."

"Okay." I took in another breath, steeling myself. I lowered my lips to him again, and though he put his hands in my hair, he didn't push my head down. I was able to control it, control how much I took him in.

I did what I knew to do—what came naturally. I bobbed my head up and down, sucked as much of him as I was comfortable with, and held the rest with my hand. I knew I wasn't that great at this, but Edward's noises and the way his hips were moving off the bed would have you thinking otherwise.

My jaw was starting to hurt, he was getting harder in my mouth and then suddenly he was pulling me up roughly by my hair. "Okay, stop." I frowned but understood when he sat up and slightly moved me out of the way before he started jacking off. Within seconds, there was jizz all over his stomach and his hand, but thankfully none of it got on me. "Wow," he panted, flopping back on the bed with a lazy grin. "Can you pass me that?" He jutted his chin toward a towel sitting on the back of his desk chair, and for some reason I was feeling awkward.

There was a knock on the door then and with the person's impeccable timing, I wondered if they'd been listening. I threw the towel to Edward and started to make my way to the door, but Edward shouting at whoever it was stopped me.

"Fuck off!"

"Elizabeth's on the phone," one of the guys said on the other side of the door.

I swear the blood drained from my face and my stomach fell to my feet. I was suddenly feeling sick and seconds away from throwing up.

"All right, tell her to give me a second."

I couldn't look at him while he scrambled to clean himself up and get his pants back on. I had no one to blame but myself for the way I was feeling—I'd never once asked him if he had a girlfriend, but he could have told me just the same.

"I'll be right back." He pecked my cheek.

But all I could answer with was an, "Uh huh."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and opened his mouth like he was about to say something else but there was another knock at the door.

"Put it back in your pants, Ed and come talk to your –"

Edward was off the bed in a flash and yanking the door open.

"You're a fucking idiot you know that," he spat at Emmett who was laughing his ass off and reaching the phone out to him.

"Calm down, it's on mute."

Edward snatched the phone from him and started closing the door behind him, but he didn't close it in time before I heard him say, "No, I'm not busy. What's up?"

I didn't want to freak out or assume the worst. The worst being Edward was on the phone with a girlfriend.

I had no intention of asking him who it was since it wasn't any of my business and I knew if he told me just that I'd be pissed and hurt.

The mere mentioning of a girl's name making me feel this way was proof I was in way over my head and I started to plan my hasty escape. I was off the bed and wiggling back into my sweats and picking up my sweater when Edward walked back into the room.

"Going somewhere?"

"Oh." I jumped at being caught. "No, no I just wanted to get my clothes on."

"Are you cold?" He came behind me, caging me in one of those backward hugs.

"Nope."

"Everyone's thinking about ordering food, you hungry?"

"No." And I actually wasn't because Angel and I had gorged ourselves on pizza while we were at the mall, and we'd eaten some chips while watching the movie.

"What's wrong?" He sighed, and I felt him drop his forehead to my shoulder. "Why are you answering me with attitude?"

"I'm not." I tried to wiggle away from him. "But on second thought, maybe I'm hungry after all. Let me go check with the girls, see what they want to do."

"Fine." He let me go and walked out the door without saying anything to me.

Great, now he was pissed.

When I walked into the family room, everyone seemed to be in a great mood, laughing and passing around what looked to be menus.

Everyone except Edward.

"Bella!" The girls smiled at me. "Pizza, Chinese, or subs?"

"I'm cool with whatever," I said as casual as possible and went to sit by Alice. Sighing, I rested my head on her shoulder to try and regain control of how I was feeling.

"What's wrong?" she whispered in my ear, and all I could do was shake my head. I knew she'd understand it meant a few things: I don't know, I don't want to talk about it, and I'm fine and let's not make a scene.

About a minute later, Edward walked back inside and wouldn't even look at me.

"You girls know what you want? Or you getting ready to head out?"

I could feel every single eye on me, so as calmly as possible, I said, "We could leave if that's what you're asking."

"And you can do whatever the hell you want."

"Okay." Alice stood up. "How about we go make some drinks while you guys decide what you want to order? We'll eat just about everything, right girls?"

I nodded and followed them into the kitchen knowing I was going to be accosted the minute we were out of ear shot.

"Oh, my God."

"Are you all right?"

"What the hell happened?"

"Edward's being an ass."

"Really?" Angel snorted. "Because twenty minutes ago, it sounded like he was _getting_ some ass."

"You guys did not hear us," I pleaded. "Please tell me you didn't." How embarrassing. I didn't care if the girls heard, and I didn't care if the guys knew what was going on but the thought of them actually hearing it all?

"We didn't hear exactly what was going on, but yeah, we heard some noises coming from the room. Don't worry; we turned the volume up to drown you out."

"We didn't … you know." I poked in and out of the space between my thumb and pointer finger. I left out the fact we probably would be right at this moment if things hadn't gotten weird—meaning if I hadn't gotten weird. "Everything was fine and then suddenly it wasn't. And now …" I let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't even know."

"Okay, look." Rose grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her side of the kitchen. "Emmett brought some things over, so let's just make them some drinks. You hand him his like a sort of peace offering and see what happens. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

Together, we whipped up some drinks for us and the guys and hurried back to them before they could remember we were gone and come looking for us.

Just liked we'd been doing, it was clear they'd been talking about us because they stopped talking as soon they saw us.

I went straight to Edward to hand him his drank, but he looked up to stare at me for a second before he actually took it. Ben, who'd been sitting right next to him, darted up from the couch and offered me his seat. I smiled, though inside I was feeling uneasy and sat next to Edward.

"You made this?" He lifted his cup up. "It's good. You drinking the same thing?"

"Yeah." I lifted my drink up to him, smiling when puckered his lips against the rim to take a drink.

"Good shit."

"Thanks."

And just like that it seemed like our weird moment had passed.

**… XxX…**

"Oh, man. I can't believe you ate all that food."

I giggled, stretching out next to Edward on the bed. "I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

"I knew you were hungry." He poked my side. "You were just having attitude."

"Edward."

"That was my mom that called, you know that, right?"

"That's …" Wonderful. "None of my business."

"You say that now, but I saw your face when you thought it might have been my girl. Shit, you were ready to walk out of here and never talk to me again."

"Is that you why started acting funny? Because you thought I was mad?"

"No. I was giving you space because I _knew_ you were mad."

With no clue how to respond, I chose to stay quiet for a minute. I had to take a moment to work out how I was going to explain why I was feeling that way earlier.

"I wasn't upset with you at the idea you had a girlfriend. Like I said, it's none of my business." He pursed his lips and I knew he didn't believe me, so I rushed to try and find the right words. "I was upset with myself at the reaction I had at hearing another girl's name, and thinking it might be a girlfriend-type person."

"Listen." He sighed, and sat up. "What you just said honestly made no damn sense. But I like you. I wouldn't have invited you here if I didn't. And if I had a girl, I'd be with her right now."

"But you're here with me."

"Exactly."

I know that didn't mean I was his girl, but for a second it felt nice to pretend.

"We could watch a movie if you want, or –"

I straddled him, cutting off his thought, and forced his mouth open with my tongue. I was done talking and watching movies and was more than ready to pick up where we left off before his mom called.

Our clothes were shed quickly, and in a split second, he was kneeling over me, rolling on a condom and spreading my legs wider.

"I have a feeling this might hurt you. If it does, you stop me."

I had no intentions of stopping but still gave him a pacifying smile.

Edward didn't hold back and I was glad because I didn't want him to. His fingernails were digging into my skin and I knew they'd be leaving marks. A strange part of me was thrilled at the idea. Waking up with those as reminders would be the only thing I had left of him, the only thing I would have as tangible proof this day and this moment truly happened.

He didn't say much, save for the occasional grunt, but his eyes were zeroed in on my face, gauging and savoring my reactions.

Dropping to his arms, he captured my lips in between his and moaned in my mouth. "I can't hold out much longer."

"It's okay." I grabbed a hold of his ass, pushing him deeper. I wasn't sure why he was telling me that anyway—why he was holding back—until he started murmuring in my ear, asking me if I was close, begging me to come. That wasn't something I was used to doing—coming like this, but before I could tell him to 'just let go', he let out a low grumble, his upper body stiffened and his hips bucked up and down fast and hard against me.

When he collapsed next to me, my entire body felt sore but I still found the energy to sit up, ready to throw my clothes on and bolt the hell out of there. I didn't want to look at him. We both knew what this was and I didn't want to prolong the inevitable. I stopped when I felt his hands slowly sliding over my stomach.

"Do you have to go?" he whispered, bringing me back to lie down at his side. He turned the clock around, searching for the time but I didn't even look at it. I didn't care what it said because I wasn't ready to leave yet if he wasn't asking me to leave.

"Not yet."

"Good. Then just relax for a little bit and stop being so quick to try and run away from me."

…

"Bella. Bella, wake up."

I jumped up, disappointed that it was all a dream but giggled when I heard a muffled and sleepy, "What the fuck!" coming from Edward.

"Sorry."

I squinted, trying to make out where Angel's voice was coming from. The room was dark and the only light shining in was from the hallway.

"It's getting late, we have to go."

Late? "What time is it?"

"It's already after eleven. We all fell asleep."

Shit! We'd now been officially gone all day.

I jumped up trying to move as quickly as possible despite feeling sore as hell between my legs. I still had plenty of time to get home, my curfew wasn't until 12:30—sometimes later—but Rose had to be at home and in bed by eleven. Not just in the driveway either, which is something else we all learned the hard way.

"Is Rose freaking?" I tried whispering, but at that point Edward was already grumbling and flinging the blanket off of him.

"She's trying not to, but probably. She called her mom and told her she'd fallen asleep at my house. So that buys some time, but you know."

"What time is your curfew?"

"I'll wait for you outside." Angel winked at me and told Edward a quick goodbye.

"Umm … one." It was only a partial lie.

"That's over an hour still. Let your girls go. I'll take you home."

Tempting.

"No, that's okay. I drove ... so …"

"All right let me walk you out then."

I nodded, trying to hide my smile when he reached over and grabbed my hand to thread our fingers together.

"So …"

"Yeah," I chuckled, more out of nerves than finding anything funny. Under the veil of the darkened sky, I felt more exposed than when I was naked and moving underneath him hours ago.

"I'll call you."

I didn't see that statement coming nor did I believe him. However, I thought better of reacting and simply said, "Alright."

There was a brief pause, an awkward moment of fidgeting where I wanted to hug him, maybe kiss him one last time. He seemed to be having the same dilemma written all over his face, and that gave me a small bit of hope he might actually call.

"Bella, Angel, come on!" Alice and Rose were already in the back seat, but Ben and Angel were lingering together by the car, cuddled up and whispering.

"Right ... shit ... sorry." I looked back to the girls, then back at Edward. "I really need to—"

"Yeah, of course. Let me know when you get home."

Another response I didn't expect.

The ride to drop off Alice and Rose at home was quieter than I thought it'd be. I was thankful Angel agreed to stay at mine; waking up alone tomorrow was going to be harder than what I was trying to portray.

In Rose's driveway, we sat in the car idle while Alice walked in with her—hoping to alleviate some of her parents' anger. While they liked me and Angel just fine, they adored Alice. She was Rose's only hope for freedom in the near future.

"So ... I boned Ben."

Wide-eyed, my focus snapped away from staring at the front door and straight to Angel's face. "What?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be with him." I started to panic, hoping he wasn't rough with her. But a small smile started playing on her face. "He was sweet, went slow even though I told him I wasn't a virgin. He still took his time. He … uh, he asked me to be his girl."

"Aww."

"He's probably full of shit, though. Right?"

I knew exactly how she felt. Forty-eight hours ago we didn't even know these guys and there was a very high chance we'd never see them again, a high chance they were doing and saying anything they had to get in our pants.

Still, I was holding on to hope my own damn self, so I wasn't about to rain on her parade.

"You never know."

"What about you and Edward?" She wiggled her eyebrows, doing a little shake with her shoulders. "Did you guys …?"

"Yup. He said he'll call me, but I don't know."

"Hey, like you said—you never know."

"Even if he does call, there's still that chance he'll –"

"Just be using you? Be nothing but trouble? Break your heart into smithereens?"

I laughed, shocked because that's exactly what I was thinking. But I didn't get a chance to respond, noticing Alice finally making her way out.

It was weird that we both clammed up, neither one of us speaking about it while all four of us were in the car together. I knew we'd tell Rose and Alice eventually, but there was something in the air—an unspoken understanding to wait.

Ben and Edward alike were badass. At least they appeared to be. In the past two days, we watched Edward pummel some guy at a party, then there's the issue of that weird high speed chase. And despite our barely-there age difference, Edward had a whole other world of experience than I did.

There was a part of me screaming that even if he calls to not pursue things further, enjoy our one night together for what it was. But as I drove to drop Alice at home, with Angel in the passenger seat sporting a secretive grin on her face, I knew we were both too far gone for that.

And trouble or not, if these guys wanted to become permanent fixtures in our lives—it didn't matter what it would cost us—we'd allow it.

* * *

**And that concludes my long one shot!**

**Thank you so much for reading. And again, thanks to those who donated to the Fandom4LLS.**

**Until Next Time**

**~Lo**


End file.
